“I want to try Oblivion Swell, but I can never line it up with a gem.”
That was me for a long time. So I sat down and worked it out properly — and while I was at it, I threw Blasting Staff into the mix too.
Oblivion Swell is a spell that adds damage equal to the cost of the gem you discard when you cast it.
While prepped, once per turn during your main phase you may gain 1 aether.
Cast: Deal 2 damage. You may discard a gem. If you do, deal additional damage equal to its cost.
Pair it with Clouded Sapphire, a 6-cost gem, and that little 2-damage spell starts hitting hard. Add Blasting Staff on top, and you’re aiming for a real burst.
The mage I used was Mist.
The Plan at a Glance
Here’s the whole setup before we go turn by turn.
- Turn 1: Gain V’riswood Amber, prep a Spark
- Turn 2: Cast the Spark, gain Clouded Sapphire
- Turn 3: Open Breach II, prep two Sparks
- Turn 4: Cast two Sparks, open Breach III, prep a Spark to Breach III
- Turn 5: Don’t cast the Spark, gain Oblivion Swell
- Turn 6: Still don’t cast the Spark — prep two more Sparks, gain Planar Insight
- Turn 7: Cast all three Sparks, prep Oblivion Swell to Breach III, gain a 4-cost card such as Blasting Staff or Focusing Orb — careful: gaining a spell here lines up four spells in a row
- Turn 8: Cast Oblivion Swell, discarding Clouded Sapphire. Prep Planar Insight, gain Blasting Staff
And that’s the setup done. Let’s look at each turn.
Turn by Turn
Abbreviations — Garnet: Garnet Shard, Mist’s unique card. Amber: V’riswood Amber. Sapphire: Clouded Sapphire. Swell: Oblivion Swell. Staff: Blasting Staff. Orb: Focusing Orb. Insight: Planar Insight.
Turn 1
Hand: Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Spark
Deck: Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Spark / Spark
Discard: empty
Gain V’riswood Amber. Prep one Spark — the other one stays in hand.
Turn 2
Breach I: Spark · Breach II: closed
Hand: Amber / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Deck: Spark / Spark
Discard: Garnet / Crystal / Crystal
Cast the Spark, then gain Clouded Sapphire.
End of the turn — Breach I: empty · Hand: empty · Deck: Spark / Spark
Discard: Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Turn 3
Breach I: empty · Breach II: closed
Hand: Spark / Spark / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal
Deck: Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Discard: empty
Spend 3 aether to open Breach II, then prep both Sparks.
End of the turn — Breach I: Spark · Breach II: Spark · Hand: empty
Deck: Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Discard: Garnet / Crystal / Crystal
Turn 4
Breach I: Spark · Breach II: Spark · Breach III: closed
Hand: Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal
Deck: Crystal / Crystal
Discard: Garnet / Crystal / Crystal
Cast both Sparks. Open Breach III, then prep a Spark to Breach III.
End of the turn — Breach I: empty · Breach II: empty · Breach III: Spark · Hand: empty
Deck: Crystal / Crystal
Discard: Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Spark / Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal
Turn 5
Breach III: Spark
Hand: Crystal / Crystal / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal
Deck: Spark / Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal
Discard: empty
Don’t cast the Spark. Gain Oblivion Swell instead.
End of the turn — Breach III: Spark · Hand: empty
Deck: Spark / Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal
Discard: Swell / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Turn 6
Breach III: Spark
Hand: Spark / Spark / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal
Deck: Crystal
Discard: Swell / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Still don’t cast the Spark in Breach III. Prep the other two Sparks to Breaches I and II, and gain Planar Insight.
End of the turn — Breach I: Spark · Breach II: Spark · Breach III: Spark · Hand: empty
Deck: Crystal
Discard: Swell / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Insight / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal
Turn 7
Breach I: Spark · Breach II: Spark · Breach III: Spark
Hand: Crystal / Swell / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal
Deck: Crystal / Crystal / Insight / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal
Discard: empty
Cast all three Sparks. Prep Oblivion Swell to Breach III, then gain a card with your 4 aether, plus 1 more from Oblivion Swell.
Be careful here: if you gain a spell, you’ll end up with four spells lined up in a row in your deck. I recommend a relic — Focusing Orb or Blasting Staff, for example. I took Focusing Orb.
About that extra 1 aether: Oblivion Swell says you may gain 1 aether, so it’s optional. If you’re buying a 4-cost card, don’t take the extra aether.
End of the turn — Breach I: empty · Breach II: empty · Breach III: Swell · Hand: empty
Deck: Crystal / Crystal / Insight / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal
Discard: Spark / Spark / Spark / Orb / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Turn 8
Breach III: Oblivion Swell
Hand: Crystal / Crystal / Insight / Sapphire / Amber
Deck: Crystal
Discard: Spark / Spark / Spark / Orb / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal
Cast Oblivion Swell, discarding Clouded Sapphire.
In your main phase, prep Planar Insight to Breach III. Use the remaining 4 aether to gain Blasting Staff.
Now Oblivion Swell, Blasting Staff, and Clouded Sapphire all sit together in your discard pile.
End of the turn — Breach I: empty · Breach II: empty · Breach III: Insight · Hand: empty · Deck: Crystal
Discard: Spark / Spark / Spark / Orb / Garnet / Crystal / Crystal / Crystal / Swell / Staff / Sapphire / Amber / Crystal / Crystal
If you discard Clouded Sapphire right when you cast Oblivion Swell, the order in the discard pile becomes Swell, Sapphire, Staff instead.
What Comes After
From here, the plan plays out like this:
- Cast Planar Insight, prep all three Sparks. One Crystal is left over
- Cast the three Sparks. Spend 5 aether — or spend 4 and use your unique card to cast an ally’s spell
- Now Oblivion Swell, Blasting Staff, Clouded Sapphire, V’riswood Amber, and a Crystal all land in your hand together
Summary
It takes a while to get set up — but once it’s in place, you deal steady damage every turn:
- Three Sparks: 4 damage
- Planar Insight: 6 damage, cast from opened Breach III
- Oblivion Swell, Blasting Staff, and Clouded Sapphire: 11 damage, cast from opened Breach III
Your deck is only 16 cards at this point, so from here, avoid adding too many cards — aim for charges and opening Breach IV instead.
And Kadir has the same breach setup, so this works with Kadir too.
Tested in 2-mage mode with Mist. Kadir shares the same breach layout, so the same line applies.
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